After one week, the fate of negotiations at the U.N. Climate Change Conference remains uncertain. At the center of the debate is the future of the Kyoto Protocol, the only treaty that binds almost 40 rich nations to cut their greenhouse gases until 2012. Last week, Japan said it would oppose extending Kyoto unless the U.S. and China also sign on. The United States has long been criticized for never having ratified Kyoto despite being historically the world’s largest polluter. We speak to Venezuela’s lead climate change negotiator, Claudia Salerno. [includes rush transcript]

Amy Goodman reports from the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Cancún, Mexico, where the media center is eerily quiet. At last year’s climate meeting in Copenhagen, the room was buzzing with thousands of reporters. However, today climate change seems to be a forgotten story. Democracy Now! reviewed the transcripts of last week’s evening news broadcasts on ABC, CBS and NBC in the United States. The Cancún talks were not mentioned a single time. [includes rush transcript]

While climate negotiators, NGOs and delegates gather at the walled-off U.N. Climate Change Conference at the plush Moon Palace Hotel in Cancún, Mexico, those who were not invited have organized their own meetings. The international small farmers movement La Via Campesina and other grassroots organizations are holding the alternative Global Forum for Life and Environmental and Social Justice, with participants attending from across Latin America. [includes rush transcript]

Secret diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks have revealed new details about how the United States manipulated last year’s climate talks in Copenhagen. The cables show how the United States sought dirt on nations opposed to its approach to tackling global warming, how financial and other aid was used to gain political backing, and how the United States mounted a secret global diplomatic offensive to overwhelm opposition to the "Copenhagen Accord." We speak to Bolivia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Pablo Solón. Several of the cables addressed Bolivia’s opposition to the U.S.-backed accord. [includes rush transcript]

Former Irish President Mary Robinson was in Cancún this weekend for the U.N. Climate Change Conference. Robinson talked about the need for a global climate fund that will help poor people protect themselves from the growing threats of global warming. Robinson is the honorary president of Oxfam International. She recently launched the Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice. [includes rush transcript]

Amy Goodman with Denis Moynihan — What price would you pay not to kill another human being? At what point would you commit the offenses allegedly perpetrated by Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was charged Wednesday with desertion and “misbehavior before an enemy?”